NC State Looks To Bounce Back As They Return To Raleigh For Their Regular Season Finale Against Louisville

After falling on the road to Georgia Tech NC State will return to the triangle for their regular season finale as they host Louisville on senior night.

NC State comes into their game with Louisville with a record of 20-10 and 10-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. "according to  http://gopack.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball and is coming off a loss on Thursday night in Atlanta to Georgia Tech.

Georgia Tech shot 62.5 percent in the second half to come-from-behind and beat NC State, 78-75, Thursday night inside McCamish Pavilion.

With the loss, NC State falls to 20-10, 10-7 (ACC), while Georgia Tech improves to 12-18, 5-12 (ACC).

The Pack led by seven at halftime, 38-31, and extended the lead to nine on an Allerik Freeman three-pointer with 17:15 left to play, but Georgia Tech responded with a 10-2 run to cut the lead to 48-47 with 14:23 to go. Freeman connected on another three-pointer to give NC State a four-point lead, 53-49, but Georgia Tech answered with a 9-2 run to take its first lead of the game on a Brandon Alston three-pointer with 10:00 to go. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-georgia-tech-78-75.aspx

The teams would exchange the lead 10 times in the final 10:00 minutes of the game as neither team had a lead larger than four points in the closing minutes until Josh Okogie made a three-pointer with 37 seconds remaining to give the Yellow Jackets a 78-72 lead."according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-georgia-tech-78-75.aspx

Back-to-back field goals by Omer Yurtseven pushed NC State back in front 59-58, but Georgia Tech responded with a Okogie jump shot to retake the lead. Freeman pushed the Pack in front with a driving lay-up, but Ben Lammers scored on back-to-back possessions to give Georgia Tech a 64-61 lead with 6:53 to play. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-georgia-tech-78-75.aspx

The Yellow Jackets pushed the advantage out to 67-63, but the Pack made another push as Braxton Beverly hit a lay-up and then Torin Dorn completed a three-point play to give the Pack a 68-67 lead with 3:28 to play."according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-georgia-tech-78-75.aspx

The two teams exchanged baskets over the next two minutes until Freeman was called for a charge with 1:29 to go and the Pack trailing 73-72. Lammers made a lay-up the next time down for Georgia Tech and then the Yellow Jackets got a stop on the defensive end. Okogie's three-pointer the next time down gave Georgia Tech its biggest lead of the game with 37 seconds to go. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-georgia-tech-78-75.aspx

Beverly made a three-pointer on the Pack's next possession to cut the lead in half and after a Georgia Tech turnover, Beverly got two more looks at a tying three-pointer but could not connect on either shot. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-georgia-tech-78-75.aspx
 
Freeman led the Pack in scoring for the fifth consecutive game, finishing with 19 points. The Charlotte native scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half. Yurtseven added 17 points and a team-best nine rebounds, while Dorn finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. Beverly chipped in 13 points and a team-high six assists."according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-georgia-tech-78-75.aspx

Georgia Tech was led by Tadric Jackson who scored a game-high 22 points. Lammers added 20 points, nine rebounds, a career-high seven assists, four steals and two blocks."according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-georgia-tech-78-75.aspx

Louisville meanwhile comes into their game with NC State with a record of 19-11 and 9-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference "according to http://gocards.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball after their heartbreaking loss to top ranked Virginia on Thursday night at the KFC Yum Center.

De'Andre Hunter's 3-pointer as time expired gave No. 1 Virginia a 67-66 victory over Louisville on Thursday night in a wild finish that made the Cavaliers the first Atlantic Coast Conference team to go 9-0 on the road in league play. "according to http://gocards.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-cardinals-fall-on-last-second-shot-to-no-1-virginia.aspx

Needing everything to overcome an energized Cardinals squad desperate for a statement victory, the Cavaliers (27-2, 16-1) tied the game at 58 with 2 minutes left and overcame another five-point deficit in the final minute. Louisville led 66-64 and tried to inbounds with .9 seconds left, but Virginia got the ball after Deng Adel was called for traveling on the baseline. "according to http://gocards.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-cardinals-fall-on-last-second-shot-to-no-1-virginia.aspx

After a timeout, Hunter got the ball and sank a long 3 that banked in at the horn, sparking a wild dog pile of Cavaliers celebrating in front of Louisville bench. "according to http://gocards.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-cardinals-fall-on-last-second-shot-to-no-1-virginia.aspx

Ty Jerome scored 21 points while Devon Hall and Kyle Guy each had 10 and Hunter seven as Virginia became the first ACC team with perfect road league record since Duke (8-0) in the 2011-12 season."according to http://gocards.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-cardinals-fall-on-last-second-shot-to-no-1-virginia.aspx

Adel had 18 points for Louisville (19-11, 9-8). "according to http://gocards.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-cardinals-fall-on-last-second-shot-to-no-1-virginia.aspx

BIG PICTURE

Virginia: The Cavaliers didn't flinch or fade despite trailing, and stuck with their game plan until getting a final chance that went through. Shooting 56 percent in the second half helped along with holding Louisville to 36 percent after halftime. They also outrebounded the Cardinals 34-27. "according to http://gocards.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-cardinals-fall-on-last-second-shot-to-no-1-virginia.aspx

Louisville: Facing a tall order against a Cavaliers squad that had beaten them five straight times, the Cardinals had their chances to seal it but missed free throws late before Adel's turnover gave Virginia a final chance. With it went a golden opportunity to get the signature win they needed, one that they let slip away. "according to http://gocards.com/news/2018/3/1/mens-basketball-cardinals-fall-on-last-second-shot-to-no-1-virginia.aspx

Tip-off is set for 6:00pm from PNC Arena. The game will be televised on the Regional Sports Network. "according to http://gopack.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball